


Before we die

by dabs_into_oblivion



Series: ASOUE post-canon [3]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-11 01:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18419825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dabs_into_oblivion/pseuds/dabs_into_oblivion
Summary: Really just an excuse to write Violet/Quigley. No regrets.





	Before we die

The first time the Baudelaire orphans stood on Briny Beach, they were looking outward, toward the sea.

Violet picks up a stone, rubbing her fingers over its smoothness, its edges, its imperfections. She draws her arm back and skips it, watching the little splashes, getting smaller and smaller until the stone finally sinks.

The second time the Baudelaire orphans were on Briny Beach, they were in motion, making a quick decision: which adult do we trust?

Klaus pulls his commonplace book out of his pocket and flips through it, stopping at "The Hotel Denouement." He reads, though he doesn't need to, because he was there and the events on the page are already burned into his brain.

The third time the Baudelaire orphans stand on Briny Beach, they are looking back on the ruins of the city they once called home.

Sunny bends down, runs her fingers through the sand and lifts a handful, letting it slide between her fingers. Like flour, she thinks. A few paces closer to the water, Beatrice is building a small sand castle.

They are here because of a letter, one that came not in the mail but down the library chimney in the small, derelict two-bedroom apartment they share. When Klaus sliced the envelope open with a paper knife and slid the letter out, he felt as though he'd seen a ghost.

Briny Beach is always foggy, thinks Sunny, chewing on a fingernail. So foggy that you can't see someone approaching until they're almost upon you. Perfect for an ambush.

And then she's there, a little taller, a little wearier than they remember, and no longer wearing a dead man's face on her torso. It takes a few minutes for the Baudelaires to internalize that this is real, she's here, and now what?

"Fiona," says Klaus.

She smiles, but her eyes are cold. "I'm here to offer you an opportunity."

"You said that in the letter." Sunny doesn't trust this woman; she's trying too hard to be intimidating. What is she hiding?

Violet takes her sister's hand. "What opportunity?"

Fiona steps forward, through a layer of fog. Now they can see her more clearly, and she's quite clearly in pain. "Join me and my associates in rebuilding what was lost in the schism and its aftermath. Join us, and we will begin a new chapter of VFD."

"VFD never gave us any answers," spits Klaus.

"VFD killed my parents," offers Beatrice, looking up from her sand castle. "And why should we trust you?"

Fiona's eyes shut momentarily, as though she's trying to keep something out, or perhaps hold something in; she blinks, and speaks softly into a radio at her shoulder before replying, "I sacrificed myself to ensure your escape."

Beatrice stands up, moves closer to Klaus as he says, "There was room for you, on the  _Queequeg_."

"I had just found my brother!" Fiona's outburst appears to shock her more than it shocks the others, and they stand, watching her as she breathes deeply for a few moments before continuing, "Baudelaires, I'm sure you know better than most that noble people can do villainous deeds."

"Who are your associates?" asks Violet.

Fiona's eyes drop to the pistol at her waist. It's a few more moments before she answers. "I can't tell you that."

"Then we can't join you," Violet counters. "It's dangerous to commit to a course of action without knowing the possible risks."

"Fine." Fiona squares her shoulders. "One of you can come with me, to see for yourself before making a decision."

Violet glances at her siblings, at Beatrice, and nods to each of them before returning her gaze to Fiona. "I'll go."

\----------------

Violet is prepared for many sights as she steps out of the taxi, but she is not prepared for this.

"Violet!" Isadora practically runs at her, enveloping her in a hug that almost lifts her off her feet. "We were hoping you'd come."

"Where are the others?" asks Duncan, slower to approach but just as quick to smile and join the hug.

Violet disentangles herself. "We haven't officially decided to join yet. I'm here to see what Fiona's offer is about."

"She went herself?" Duncan sounds incredulous.

"Probably because she wanted to see Klaus," whispers Isadora, and Violet thinks, maybe he should have come instead. Before she can brood too much, Isadora links arms with her and tugs her into what looks like a repurposed circus tent.

The light inside is multicolored and surprisingly bright, given how cloudy it is outdoors. The tables and seating are laid out like a medieval great hall, with one long table on a dais at the back of the tent. Violet isn't surprised to see Fiona sitting there, but what shocks her into complete stillness is the boy -- no, the  _man_ sitting beside her.

"Violet?" Duncan is shaking her gently.

She returns to herself. He hasn't even looked at her. She pastes a smile onto her face and follows Duncan to one of the tables. "So what exactly is this organization, and what do you do?"

\----------------

She is given her own tent and more machines and gadgets than she's ever dreamed of. Klaus works with the Quagmire triplets in the library each of them feeding off one another and enjoying a sense of camaraderie that Violet envies. Sunny becomes the culinary supervisor, a title she wears with more than a little pride, and Beatrice joins the operations team, doing the most stereotypical "spy" work. Occasionally, Fiona will share one of her creations or updates with Violet, and gradually the two become -- not quite friends, but at least no longer enemies. At meals, Fiona often shares a bowl of stew with Klaus, and Violet tries several times to approach Quigley, but someone else always gets there first, so she eventually gives up.

The sky is full of smoke and clouds, and Beatrice has just left to investigate. Violet rummages through her toolbox, searching for a particular wrench that will help her tighten the last few screws on her latest invention, which is designed to remotely trigger sensors which release water when they pick up a certain amount of smoke.

She finds the wrench, and becomes aware of someone standing in the door of her tent, leaning against one of the poles. She straightens but does not turn around. It's not Fiona, because Fiona knocks; and it's not Klaus, because he would have said something by now. No one else really visits her here, except Beatrice, who's not here for obvious reasons.

"Either make it quick or wait until I'm done, please." She's a little miffed that she's been interrupted, but refuses to hold it against them.

"Has it occurred to you that we might die at any moment, Violet?"

The voice is both familiar and strange. She heard it long ago, and just yesterday, but it's different now, and lighter than his brother's.

She turns the wrench, around and around, letting the rhythm seep into her. "Maybe if I finish this, we'll live longer."

She takes his silence as agreement. Okay, and maybe she drags it out longer than necessary, emphasizing the effort required to finish tightening each screw, but she figures if he waits, maybe it'll take away some of the sting from the weeks he's spent ignoring her.

Eventually she's done. Before she can finish wiping her hands on her apron and turn around, he's doing it for her, grasping her arm and pulling her into a hug. "Violet," he whispers, and she can't remember anything except how much she's missed him.

"Why didn't you come to the library?" he murmurs into her hair. "I knew you were here, I looked for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I saw you at meals," she begins, and then stops, because he's pulled away and is looking at her, searching her face.

"And you didn't --"

"You were with someone else." She wants desperately to hide but knows she can't.

He frowns. "Aside from Fiona -- that must have been the day you arrived, because she always eats with Klaus now -- I can't think of anyone specific."

"No one specific, just . . . everyone in general. You're a popular guy, Quigley." She picks at one of her cuticles.

"Violet, you're usually so confident --"

"Not when I'm in love," she snaps, and immediately regrets it, because he's staring at her like she just grew a third arm, and she's tired and the world is burning and why can't he just say something and --

"Why didn't you tell me!" He slips a hand behind her head and kisses her, firmly, thoroughly, and she finds that she no longer needs or wants to breathe. As they melt into each other, she thinks she could stay in his arms forever and not regret anything.

He pauses in between kisses, to tell her, "Just in case you were wondering, I love you too."


End file.
